Creating your first Bitcoin hot wallet
Before following the tutorial you will first need to navigate to your mobile APP store and download BlueWallet.
Create your new wallet.
Name your wallet, select bitcoin and hit create.
This is your backup seed phrase, it is extremely important. Please write this down safely, keep it away from cameras, and never share it with anyone. If someone gains access to these, they will have the ability to take your funds. We will use these shortly in the wallet recovery exercise.
Select the ok once you have written these down correctly and in order.
Your wallet has now been created. Easy yea!
Select the big blue wallet icon.
Now that we've accessed your wallet, before we proceed with the recovery exercise, we need to fund the wallet with a small amount of BTC. You don't have to do this to complete the exercise, but it is recommended to gain the maximum benefit and understanding
To fund select receive.
Blue wallet will double check if you have backed up your 12 word seed phrase.
Select yes.
You will be presented with one of your wallet's receive addresses.
Copy this by clicking on it.
Now you will need to exit your wallet and navigate to your Bitcoin exchange account, then proceed to the withdrawal section. I am using Bitaroo App for Australia.
Paste your receive address.
Select your send fee.
Enter the amount you wish to send, alternatively, you can select 'max'. It is recommended to use only a small amount for the recovery exercise.
Continue to withdraw.
Have some patience and shortly you should see your funds received into your BlueWallet.
You can toggle the unit of account displayed in your wallet by selecting the small icon beside your funds.
Recovery exercise
Select the 3 dot icon in the top right corner of your wallet.
Scroll down to select "Delete".
Confirm you are sure.
Input wallet balance for final conformation and select "Delete".
Now, for the sake of the exercise, imagine that our device has been lost, stolen, or damaged, and we now need to recover our funds.
The first step is not to panic.
If you have written down your seed phrase correctly and stored it in a safe manner, you still have the ability to recover our funds.
Firstly, once you have obtained a new device (mobile or PC), simply download and open the Blue Wallet app once again and select 'Add Now'.
Input wallet balance for final conformation and select "Delete".
You will now be met with a screen that says,
"Please enter your seed words, public key, WIF, or anything you've got. BlueWallet will do its best to guess the correct format and import your wallet."
Type your seed words into the box below in the correct order, with a single space between each word. Ensure you have correctly spelt each word before continuing and selecting 'Import'.
(Note:I have not inserted a screenshot because the software does not allow it on this page.)
Once you have successfully entered your seed words, BlueWallet will search the Bitcoin network and recover your wallet!
Select “OK”
Click into your wallet, and you will now be able to see a history of your past transactions and be able to send or receive funds.
Note: This recovery process can be replicated with any compatible Bitcoin wallet software, it does not necessarily have to be BlueWallet.
I would encourage taking a moment to truly appreciate the profound implications of what might seem like a nearly trivial exercise.
This development now empowers individuals to quite literally possess large sums of value in a non physical form in an unconfiscatable manner, enabling them to move freely around the globe with the ability to recover and spend their funds at will, without the intervention of any third party authority.
